The condolence ceremony or condolence council is a part of the Haudenosaunee

Great Law of Peace Among the Haudenosaunee (the "Six Nations," comprising the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples) the Great Law of Peace ( Mohawk: ''Kaianere’kó:wa''), also known as Gayanashagowa, is the oral constitution of ...

. It governs succession to political offices after a leader dies. The ceremony is held in the community whose leader has died. Attendees are divided into two moieties: the clear-minded and the downcast or bereaved. The ceremony progresses through several stages, including a recitation of the Great Law. Through the ceremony, new leaders are appointed to replace those who have died. It was typically the first item on the agenda when a Haudenosaunee council met. Among other things, the ceremony recalls the

Great Peacemaker The Great Peacemaker ( ), sometimes referred to as Deganawida or Tekanawí:ta in Mohawk (as a mark of respect, some Iroquois avoid using his personal name except in special circumstances) was by tradition, along with Jigonhsasee and Hiawatha, t ...

's condolence of

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

and the "transformation" of

Tadodaho Tadodaho was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Hoyenah (sachem) of the Onondaga (tribe), Onondaga nation before the Deganawidah and Hiawatha formed the Iroquois League, or "Haudenosaunee". According to oral tradition, he had ...

from a state of confusion and disorder to a state of peace.

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